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Award Archive
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2004-2005 AWARD RECIPIENTS |
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Kim Chambers
Kim Chambers has been at UConn since 1982, first working in the Division of Student Affairs and Services and now for the Institute for Teaching and Learning, a part of Undergraduate Education. Kim is also a UConn alum, having earned his Ph.D. in Family Studies, in 1995, focusing on young adult identity development. He has been an FYE instructor since the beginning of the program in 1996. Prior to coming to UConn, Kim worked for 4 years in the MidWest and was a student at the University of Florida. At Florida, he earned an B.A. in psychology and Masters and Specialists degrees in Counselor Education. Kim has been teaching courses in college student development since the late ‘70s, most recently here in the First Year Experience program at UConn. One of his FYE classes, “My Family Mirror” reflects a personal interest in family history and genealogy. He has been an ardent support for a strong transition program in FYE. Both his INTD 180 and 182 classes are always very highly rated and he spends a great deal of time incorporating his mentors and the use of technology in the course. Beyond his teaching, he has been a major presenter for each Spring FYE workshop, and he has been our "go to guy" when it comes to technology in FYE. He and his office have provided invaluable support for FYE. As Director of the Instructional Resources, Kim works with the technology side of undergraduate (and graduate) education – working with the popular course management software package, WebCT, and UConn’s recent exploration of student e-portfolio software. |
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Maria Sedotti
Maria Sedotti has been been the coordinator of Orientation Services here at Uconn since 1990. Maria first came to Uconn in 1977 as graduate student in the School of Education. After earning her Masters degree she taught high school science for 5 years in Hartsdale NY before returning to UCONN in 1985 to begin work on a Doctorate. She has authored and co-authored several articles on crime science for ChemMatters a high school Chemistry magazine. She also co-authored a hands-on fingerprinting guide for middle school students entitled, “Fingerprint Detectives.” Her graduate assistantship in Orientation eventually led to full-time position in 1989. Since that time Maria has been cultivating teams of orientation leaders to introduce new students to the University. She has taught FYE classes since the inception of the FYE program in 1996. In the fall she’ll be developing content for a new class, and a very popular topic: "The History of Crime Science." Maria brings a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and energy to all her classes and presentations. A former student of Maria’s writes in her nomination: “At the beginning of the year, I was having a very difficult time adjusting to the whole college experience. There were weeks that I was very upset. But no matter what, every Wednesday at 2:00, I always had a smile on my face. It was the one thing I looked forward to during the week. FYE was the one place where I felt more at home. It was the only place that made such a large school just a little bit smaller for me. Maria was a big part of this. No matter what, she was always very cheerful and very encouraging. She had a very big impact on me. She was always there if I needed someone to talk to.” |
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Kinga Kostaniak
Kinga Kostaniak is a 4th Semester Psychology Major. Kinga’s 3.9 GPA exemplifies her commitment to excellence in the classroom. Kinga is a student of diverse talents and interests who is already setting her sites on law school. She excelled as a mentor for Jeff von Munkwitz-Smith’s First Year Living Learning Community course “Connecting with the Arts.” A course that targets students with a passion for the arts but are not Fine Arts majors. She quickly learned and incorporated WebCT course design by posting events and important classroom information for students. She also kept students informed through posting discussions and having students reflect on the cultural events they attended. Jeff von Munkwitz-Smith writes in his nomination: “Kinga helped plan the classes and interacted with the students both in and out of class. A class that she led by herself was one of the best of the semester. She asked students a few weeks earlier to create works of art that represented what they enjoyed most about UConn. She began the class with an exercise that got all students to participate in a discussion of what their expectations of UConn had been in the summer before they arrived on campus. Students then presented their artwork and Kinga brought the class to a close by integrating the impressions from all the student presentations and the discussion of expectations. She did a marvelous job; that class was one of the students’ favorites. Kinga also provided materials to assist the students in the class to succeed in their transition from high school to UConn, including information on how to register for classes, study skills workshops, studying for exams, etc. She encouraged the students to get involved in the life of the campus. Of all of the student mentors I have had for my classes, she contributed the most. She played a significant role in the success of the class.” |
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Catriona Love
Catriona (Caty) Love is a 4th semester Animal Science major. Like Kinga, Caty excels in her academics as an honors scholar and Dean’s list student. This past Fall, Caty was a mentor in Steve Zinn’s FYE class for Animal Science majors, while taking 20 academic credits (including Chemistry and Pathobiology). What a dedicated, extraordinary role model! Caty is also very involved on campus on the UConn diving team and is a spirited advocate for UCONN as a member of the UConn Orchestra. Dr. Steve Zinn describes Caty as energetic and enthusiastic. He says: “Caty is a complete student at the University of Connecticut and through her excellent abilities as an FYE mentor; she was able to share her experiences with first semester students. Caty made the students in our class a part of the UConn community and aided them to transition into UConn both academically and socially. The comments about Caty from our students on their end-of-year evaluations were extraordinary (and better than mine!). Our students liked her, appreciated her efforts, and welcomed and heeded her advice.” |
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